"Okay, let's do a comm. check!" Jason said plugging an earbud in his ear.

"Selina!" He called out.

"Check" she replied loading their guns with the sedatives.

"Ciara!"

"Check"

"Aaron!"

"Check".

Aaron pulled over at the construction site as Selina distributed their guns to them, preparing them for battle.

"Is he still in the building?" Ciara asked, getting out of the car.

"Yes!" He replied, checking the footage—the mutant stood a few feet from the unfinished exit of the building, "We have to hurry, he is leaving!" He notified.

"What!" Selina exclaimed "Already?" She swiftly turned—scanning the footage of the mutant almost leaving the building.

Aaron and Ciara glanced at each other, wide-eyed.

"Let's go!" Aaron said, tightening his hold on his gun.

"Remember guys, failure is not an option!" Selina said firmly__casting a look at each if her teammates. Her voice held a steely edge as she glanced over at Jason. "You sure you’re good in here?"

Jason flashed a quick smile. “All set.”

With a nod, Selina hopped out of the van, closing the door with a soft click. The team moved quickly, gliding across the shadows as they entered the construction site. The smell of metal and construction blocks filled the air around them as the drew closer to their target.

“Where’s the target?” Ciara whispered into her comm, pressing herself against the cold concrete wall.

“He’s just ahead—inside the building, about five meters in front of you,” Jason's voice crackled softly in her ear. The faint blue glow of her earpiece pulsed in time with his words.

Selina and Aaron exchanged a glance. Nodding, they crept closer to Ciara, their movements synchronized like clockwork.

Through the aid of the cool rays of moonlight, they could discern the mutant's body; he was indeed huge, bearing features from the video.

"I will attack first" Selina whispered "Ciara, you need to have my back, okay?". She left not waiting for a reply, drawing closer to the mutant.

"What?" Ciara wanted to protest, her forehead creased, annoyed. Aaron grabbed her arm, holding her back. He shook his head__disapproving whatever move she might make.

Grunting, she pulled her arm away from his grip. Her eyes were fixed on her annoying teammate.

'Okay, let's see what you can do, Selina' she thought.

"Hey! Big guy" Selina yelled__grabbing his attention. He turned to her, growling. His fangs looked as sharp as the blades of an edged sword under the moonlight.

Selina stood her ground, terrified at his might. She had to maintain her calm nature, the last thing she wanted was to show how frightened she was.

She took out a small black rubber stick from her waistband, pressing a button located on the side—suddenly, it grew longer, attaining a height above hers.

"Sorry, big guy but you ain't gonna see your family anytime soon" she stated inching closer to him.

Spinning the long stick between her fingers as she stepped closer, she hit one end of the stick on the ground, using it as a boost she landed a kick on him in mid-air.

He lurched backwards—bewildered by the strength of her kick. Seeing that as an opening, Aaron ran forward, firing the tranquilizers at him.

A little smile adorned his features—it slowly ebbed away as shock rippled through him. It didn't work! The mutant pulled it off from his skin like an insect, he smashed it in his hands_the particles fell to the ground. He walked closer to him with steps that commanded death.

The back swing of his hands sent Aaron flying across the building. His head hit the wall with a sound that echoed through the wall. His eyes slowly close shut as his head hung__the darkness gradually drew in. Ciara dashed forward noticing the defeat of one of her colleagues. She released several hits and punches on the mutant's face, perhaps. . .hoping that they might do some damage__instead, they caused no harm to him but left her bleeding knuckles.

He reached out to grab her, Selina was quick to act, using the stick she tripped him. He fell but swiftly got on his feet. Seeing that Selina had his attention, Ciara ran to the unconscious Aaron trying to wake him.

“Aaron! Come on wake up!” She said softly, she placed two fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse. Luckily, she felt it. It was light! She let out a sigh, relieved that he was still alive.

Identifying the blonde as the most annoying, the mutant decided to deal with her first.

Selina moved backwards, creating a distance between them, her eyes widened as fear took hold of her. She tried using the stick to hit him but. . . he pulled it from her grasp without much effort, breaking it into two medium-sized sticks.

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Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she drew backwards, the mutant motioned closer to her, his eyes were dark and apathetic, with every step he made her heart skipped a beat! She gulped. The fear she tried to conceal made itself known---etching her features.

Not paying much attention behind her, she fell to the ground as her legs grew weak engulfed by terror, she began crawling away from him.

"Ciara!" She shrieked "Help me!".

Ciara quickly got on her feet hearing the cry for help, swiftly she pulled out her gun. Her finger was nestled on the trigger, ready to release the tranquilizer bullet. Flashes of Beth's death painted the canvas of her mind, it terrified her! Her screams, the scared look she bore before her death became clearly distinct__elevating the terror.

She wheezed slowly, her chest rose and fell with each heavy breaths . . .She felt like the building was closing in on her, preparing to squeeze her life away. She breathed heavily as her finger trembled on the trigger.

"Ciara! Please help me!" Selina yelled again, still crawling on the floor.

She shook her head severally, trying to fight off the screams. the fear. the terror. Instead, they didn't heed to her command, the screams got louder and tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision, everything around her was going in circles.

"Ciara! I need your help!" Her voice called out once more—aching with terror, the mutant was a few inches before her. . . preparing to kill!.

"Stop it! " Ciara screamed, covering her ears with her trembling hands.

"Ciara. . ."

A gunshot blast rendered the air. . . the mutant fell to the ground, unconscious .

Selina looked up to see her savior. Aaron held his gun in his hand, a mist of smoke emitted from it. A thick red viscous liquid trickled down his face as he smiled weakly at her.

Ciara was still screaming when he approached her.

"Ciara! Ciara!" He said softly,

She stopped suddenly as the silence became still, she wiped her tears quickly. She looked around her—the mutant laid on the floor, unconscious and before her was an angry looking Selina, glaring at her.

"Thanks for having my back, Ciara," she said sarcastically, glowering at her.

"Selina, I. . ."

"Save it!" She cut her off, harshly. "I am going to get something from the van to restrain it, you guys should watch the mutant, at least you can be of some use, Ciara!” She said, crossly.

She turned on her heel and walked off, leaving the building.

Aaron walked closer to the mutant, studying it, he placed a tiny tracker on its neck as a precaution and walked back to the terrified Lady.

"Are you okay, Ciara?" He asked, he had a haunted look on his face as he studied her.

She scoffed "Like you care?".

He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. It was difficult talking to this woman.

"Yes I do, you had a nervous breakdown earlier!" He replied, defiantly.

"I am okay now, not that it matters to you anyway!" She replied, crossly.

"Ciara, I care about you!" He said with a concerned expression.

"Oh please!" She wasn't swayed by his words "You have never ever cared about anyone but yourself".

"Yes I have!" He retorted, "You!".

She let out an irritated chuckle "You are such a liar!"

"I am not lying, Ciara!".

"Really?" She asked, looking intently at him "when I needed you most, where were you, Aaron?" She pointed her finger forcefully at him.

He kept mute, no response came forth.

"When my Dad died and I needed a shoulder to cry on, where were you?" She asked, her voice shook as the pain from the past reeled in.

He looked away from her, avoiding her piercing gaze "Ciara, I . . ."

The mutant groaned, dizziness coursed through every fiber of his muscles, he must have been shot with a sedatives. He pulled off the syringes from his skin, he felt weak as the sedatives were still in effect. He was too fatigued for round two. As they bickered being too preoccupied in their argument, he slipped out from the building__unnoticed by them.

>>>> Back in the van, Selina found a good pair of handcuffs and a rope she could use as a restraint for the mutant.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked her, watching her as she tried to loosen the rope.

She nodded "Yeah, I am".

"That must have been really terrifying," he said, still watching her.

"It was, but luckily Aaron shot him before he could kill me" she looked at the monitor in front of him and was bug-eyed noticing the footage of the demolished building they fought the mutant in, she could spot Aaron and Ciara.

"You watched the fight?" She asked him, baffled.

"Yeah! Aaron placed a camera so I could see what was going on?" He explained.

"That's smart!" she replied with a smile. Staring at the screen, Aaron and Ciara were arguing. No surprise there being used to their bickering for a while.

She peered closer to the screen and noticed something unusual. . . The mutant was not in sight!.

"Dang it!" She dropped the rope and stormed out of it angrily.

‘Those two are gonna get it from me!’ She thought, furiously.

"Selina, what. . ." He paused, peering at the screen. His eyes searched the footage, being curious to why she stormed out of the van like a raging bull.

Smacking his hand on the table, he found his answer.

"Damn it!" He yelled.

Speaking through a microphone, he informed them, "Guys, we have a situation!".

"Not now, Jason!" Ciara and Aaron both yelled.

"You dumped me two days after his funeral, Aaron" Ciara yelled, raising two angry fingers to his face "Two days!".

"Ciara, I. . ." She interrupted him.

"You dumped me through a text". She pulled out her phone, unlocked it and scrolled through her messages until she found it.

"I am so sorry to do this but I don't think it is going to work out between us, it was nice dating you!" She read out loud.

Aaron was stunned, beyond shocked that she still had that particular message.

"You still have that message in your phone?"

"Yes, I still have it as a reminder of what a total jerk you are!" She barked.

"I sent that message a year ago!" He stated still in shock.

"l know and I. . ."

"Guys!" Selina yelled, her voice shook the building—interrupting her.

"What?" They both shouted, turning to her.

"The mutant is gone!".

Ciara shook her head in disbelief "That's impossible, he is right he. . .".

The words trailed off, her eyes grew wide as saucer, realizing that he no longer laid on the ground.

"Oh no!" Aaron said beneath his breath. The color drained from his face, discovering that she was indeed right.

The mutant was gone. Aaron and Ciara’s faces went pale as they scanned the empty ground where he had fallen just moments ago. Selina’s glare could have cut through stone. They were all back at square one—and the mutant was on the loose